Football may have came to an end for teams in Christian County Friday night, and basketball season seemingly does not tip-off until after Thanksgiving. Well, at least KHSAA play doesn’t.
HCA has already begun their season, at least in KCAA play. They hosted the Tip-Off tournament over the weekend and had a very good showing.
The Warriors finished second only suffering two losses to the defending state champs in Galilean. The Eagles of course defeating HCA for that title last season. A rivalry, maybe, a great matchup, absolutely!
HCA fell by ten on Saturday afternoon to the Eagles to put themselves in a must win semifinal for a chance to rematch Galilean in the final. They first had to wait for the winner of Oak Ridge and Bethel.
Oak Ridge would win forcing a rematch of a game from just over a week ago in Owensboro.
The Warriors, maybe still reeling from that ten point loss to Galilean, played an up and down first quarter. They led 10-2 at one point before holding on for a 13-10 advantage at the end of the first.
From there on out, they upped their game.
Clearly the superior team on Saturday HCA began quarter number two with a 6-0 run in the first minute to take a 19-10 lead with seven remaining. A minute later, after Oak Ridge tried to slow the pace, they would drain a corner three to extend their run to 9-0.
Head Coach Matt McGowan’s team was playing intensely on the defensive end and had extremely active hands forcing turnover after turnover finding themselves leading 26-12 with 3:35 remaining in the second quarter. That is a 13-2 run for those keeping up.
The half would end 32-16 after Oak Ridge dialed up the physicality, but it did not seem to bother the Warriors as they outscored them 19-6 in the quarter.
HCA would stay hot out of the half immediately running the lead up to 39-18 inside the first two minutes of the third quarter. They poured on the pressure, continuing to stifle Oak Ridge defensively and with 5:25 remaining it was a 43-18 advantage.
It was at that point Carlos Robles would show off a little, foreshadowing what was to come in the fourth quarter. The next five points would belong solely to Robles who made it a 48-18 game with 2:45 remaining in the third.
Heating up from beyond the arc they extended their lead to 51-19 just moments before Oak Ridge found a formula down the stretch of drawing fouls and converting and-one chances. They pulled closer 53-28 by the end of the third.
The fourth quarter went about as expected as both teams slowed their pace for one reason or another. HCA because they understood they had another game right after, Oak Ridge because if they didn’t the Warriors might’ve scored seventy plus.
At the 5:43 mark we did get to witness something special though. Robles followed through on that foreshadowing I mentioned when he would make an athletic play and secure his one thousandth career point. Coach McGowan called a timeout to announce it and the crowd and team went wild.
At that point it was 57-28, Oak Ridge would go on a mini run to close the gap to 57-35 before the Warriors took back control with another run of their own. 63-35 with 2:27 remaining and both sides would sub in a line change for some experience to be had.
Ultimately a 67-35 final as a couple bench players grabbed some points for HCA and let me tell you, the starters were hyped about it.
They needed to stay hyped up though if they had any hope of defeating a team that had defeated them just hours previous.
HCA would change uniforms, since Galilean was wearing all whites, and retake the court less than thirty minutes after their win over Oak Ridge. They looked it, and the Eagles looked rested.
An 11-3 run to start for Galilean and it was majority three’s. Three made from beyond the arc at 4:42 to go in the first quarter. Warriors would challenge at the point, making a concerted effort to take the deficit down, and would but just barely, to 16-9. Coach McGowan called timeout and got on his team who came out with their hair on fire, but just could not find the bottom of the net. A 25-13 lead for the Eagles at the end of the first, some uncharacteristic misses from HCA and an inability to stay with Galilean athletically and close out on shooters led to the deficit.
Warriors don’t quit though, and HCA is no exception. They did their best to make quarter two as ugly as possible slowing down the Eagles offense and created physical plays to open up shooters and lanes. With 4:15 remaining HCA trailed 32-20 and kept it nearly that close down the stretch entering halftime down 38-24.
Both teams came out having made some adjustments and ready to try and play their brand of basketball, the Eagles seemed to dictate the half though as they extended their lead slightly to 46-30 with 3:18 to go in the third and Coach McGowan would call another timeout.
HCA continued to fight their tails off and got a slight break when Galilean would rebound off a Warriors free throw attempt and inexplicably score on the wrong basket. They cut their lead to 46-35 with just over two minutes to go in the third.
Unfortunately the Warriors could not find a way in those two minutes to get the deficit under ten as they trailed 48-37 at the end of three quarters.
The fourth quarter was a battle of wills as the first minute saw both teams jockey for momentum and the lead remain at eleven points, 51-40.
We then went two minutes without a score before Robles would cut it to 51-42 at the line with 3:32 left.
Another HCA timeout after the Eagles scored to re-extend the lead 53-42, but out of the TO here came the Warriors.
1:16 to go and HCA found themselves down 54-46 and began sending Galilean to the line where they struggled. 55-48 with thirty-two seconds left and the Eagles would call the timeout.
Far from over, the Warriors showed why they will again compete with the Eagles for a state title. Many teams would’ve admitted defeat and stopped fouling, but not HCA.
After two missed Eagle free throws and Warriors got exactly what they needed out of a sophomore no less, in Jason Leek. Leek with hands in his face and pressure all over him, nailed a turnaround three from the left side and cut the lead for Galilean to 55-51. At that point though, the Eagles found just enough at the line.
57-51 moments later after two shots and that would be your final score. It was a valiant effort for the Warriors and certainly invaluable experience for them against a team I can almost guarantee they will see again, probably more than two or three times.
Ultimately, a second place finish was something to be proud of for HCA as they showed they are a head above almost everyone else, and just a chin beneath Galilean.
They next will have an out of state opponent as Clarkesville Academy and them will face off Monday night at 6!